ACS President Opens Dialogue With High School

After a successful day of hands-on activities celebrating National Chemistry Week last month at Ballou Senior High School, in Washington, D.C., ACS President Thomas H. Lane returned to the school on Nov. 9 to explore a sustainable partnership between Ballou and ACS.

The school was the site of the kick-off for National Chemistry Week's Merck Index donation project, which put more than 12,000 copies of the familiar resource into the hands of teachers and students around the U.S. More than 450 Ballou students participated in a daylong program of hands-on activities to mark the occasion.

"When we visited Ballou for National Chemistry Week, we had more than 70 volunteers turn out to work with the students and share their own personal passion for chemistry with these young people. It was phenomenal," Lane says.

With a local section and the society's headquarters located in Washington, D.C., Lane believes there is a "unique and sustainable contribution that ACS can make to science education at Ballou and perhaps at other schools in Washington or elsewhere in the country." He and ACS staff members are exploring these options and are optimistic about forming a partnership. "It might even become a model for ACS local sections and the schools in their communities," Lane says.